"Cheese!"

This is what happens when a three year old gets a hold of your camera and decides to start filming herself. I erased about 20 of these...

Is Grandma Gonna see How Much I Growed?

Yesterday we spent a few hours @ Grandma and Grandpa's house. This was the first time the kids had been there in a week! My sister had some sort of radioactive medical treatment (which I don't completely understand) for her thyroid, and the doctors said the little kids need to stay away from the house. So after a very long week we headed over there yesterday morning. As you can see they spent a lot of time jumping on top of Grandpa! On the way out of our house Reagan had asked, "Mommy, is Grandma gonna see how much I growed?" Too cute! It struck me how long one week can seem to a child. As if she had changed so much in that week that my mom would actually be able to see a difference!

Of course there was a change @ my parents house, and that was the absence of Jude. However, the kids were very excited to meet Oscar. Yes, my dad decided he just need to have a new puppy right away, and he is a cutie. But, its not the same. I will say that at least it made it easier for my kids. They asked once about Jude, to which Grandpa told them he ran away, and they didn't ask again. They were too preoccupied with holding the new puppy and playing with him! All in all it was a joy to watch.

Tastefully Simple

A couple of weeks ago I went to my friend Jill's house for what I like to call a "product party". I have never been a big fan of these, why buy a bunch of stuff I don't need or won't use? But @ the time seemed like it would be a great way to get out of the house and spend some much needed time on my own. Don't get me wrong I love my kids, but sometimes I think I just need a few hours a week, out of the house for my sanity. So, I went to the party, not knowing anything about the "product", other than that it was food, and how can you go wrong with food? As it turned out, this stuff was right up my alley! It's called Tastefully Simple, and it is a line of food products that are semi-homemade, easy to prepare, and ready-to-go. I enjoyed it so much, I had a hard time deciding which products to order. So, I decided to have a party of my own. Then I could order more product, and get more down time with friends. Last night was my party, and I had a blast! I hope everyone else did too! There were about 15 of us, which was unexpected. I only sent 20 invites, so thank you to all of my friends and family for coming. It says a lot about the quality of the people I choose to surround myself with, you guys are excellent! Of course, as always I took pictures. But, after looking at them this morning, I chose not to embarrass all of these wonderful people by posting pictures of them stuffing their mouths with food! Thanks for coming everyone! And if you didn't make or just have an interest in it, let me know and I can hook you up with my consultant, Mel, who by the way is wonderful as well!

Happy Birthday Mrs. LaFontaine!

Happy Birthday to Gina! We are all so lucky to have her in our lives! She is the older sister I never had, and I couldn't have picked a more wonderful woman to be Dee Dee's Godmother. I know that even though she might not remember it, she will forever cherish being Gina's flower girl. I absolutely adore this picture of the two of them @ the wedding! Here's to Mrs. LaFontaine, wishing her the best birthday a girl could have!

Playdates and Bubbles

Sorry I took a couple of days off! It has just been crazy busy around here! I will be so happy once swim lessons are over! I don't have a whole lot of interesting news to post other than the fact that Reagan had her first "real" playdate today. I took her to her friend Sophia's house for two hours. They met @ preschool last year and now they are in gymnastics together. This was the first time I took her to someone's house and just dropped her off. I know I have left her places before and she of course has no problem with that. But, that has always been a friend or family babysitting. She couldn't wait for me to turn around and go back out the door. Today was different b/c I don't really know Sophia's parents that well and I had never been to their home. I probably made a much bigger deal out of it than was necessary, but I was a little nervous. It all turned out okay, and she didn't want to leave when I came to get her. If I hadn't had so much going on today, I would have thought to snap a picture of her with her friend! Alas, I only have this short video of the kids playing with the bubble machine. On Sunday night, Miah and Rachael came over and the kids had a blast doing bubbles that was a great b-day gift Rach). If anything should tell you just how busy I have been, it is the fact that I took this three days ago, and just now got around to posting it!

Did I Mention I LOVE Boardgames?

I love big get togethers! I love having a house full of people with kids running and screaming everywhere. I don't like the cleanup, but it is worth it to have a good time. I think I have said before that most of my friends happen to be Chris' friends or their wives. This still holds true, but one of the things I have been trying to do this summer is acquire more friends on my own. So, I was even more excited last night about adding some new people to our group. I don't want to ramble on about who they are and how they got here so I'll just say that Doug and Jaime recently moved here from Florida, as did Chris and Barbie. They both work for Scott and they both have kids that are around they same ages as ours. Aaron and Jill came with their boys, and Scott and Sara stopped by for a little while with H. Let me just say that I commend Sara for even wanting to leave the house at all as pregnant as she is! I would be miserable if I were her and she had a smile on her face the whole time they were here. I can't wait to hear the news when this little one finally arrives! We all spent most of the evening eating and talking, and getting to know each other. The kids mainly ran back and forth between outside and downstairs, and we managed to get by without any major fights or bodily injury. Us girls all decided that since the guys have poker and golf nights, that we needed to plan a ladies night, so I am very much looking forward to getting out of the house and having some "me time" in the near future. The guys spent most of the evening drinking beer and playing cornhole, but we did manage to talk them into playing some board games once it got dark. Did I ever mention how much I love board games? I absolutely LOVE board games. As an added bonus, us girls actually won! So, here's to catching up with old friends and making new ones! Life is a journey that is so much more fun with good people walking alongside you!

Ice Cream and a Haircut

For someone who thought she didn't have any plans today, I sure ended up doing a lot! To start with, Reagan went with Nini and Ana Cece to take Bella to South Bend to meet her dad. I had offered to babysit my sister Valesca and we decided to go have lunch @ Arby's. On the way we called Gina to see if she wanted to have lunch with us. So we picked her up and had a very nice lunch. While we were eating Ana Cece called me to ask if I could pick up her son Drew @ the racquet club, so after lunch we headed over there. Since I had two extra sets of hands and was down one child I thought it would be a good day to take Jack to get a haircut. When we got there the barber had a note on the door that said he was out to lunch. I asked the kids if they wanted to kill time by walking down to the ice cream shop. Off we went, and they all ordered this playdough ice cream which I guess is just a colored vanilla with sugar cookie dough pieces. After that we just started walking around the village, from shop to shop waiting for the barber to get back. It was a hot day and we stopped to get drinks somewhere else, and browsed around the pottery shop. All in all we just had a nice lazy walk, which I figured had to be more entertaining for them than sitting on the couch @ my house watching T.V. Of course we did end up getting Jack's hair cut and he screamed the whole time, but as soon as it was over we gave him a sucker and all was well. Personally I love his hair this short (see the after picture) it makes it so much easier to manage! Now, my parents have picked up Valesca, and Drew, Dee Dee, and Jack are all sleeping. It just goes to show, even what was intended to be a lazy day at home can be eventful enough to warrant a nap!

(eating ice cream)


(after the barber)

American Teen

It is quite possible that I am one of the few people who is actually excited to see this movie! It was filmed in the town where I live, the same town I grew up in. I actually graduated from this high school 10 years ago. I am curious to see how much high school has changed since then. From what I can tell people in this town either love the movie or hate it. The speculation has been building for 2 years. Some people think it is totally fake and set up. Others think it is a real insight into today's teenage life. I don't know. I've seen the trailer and read some of the reviews and interviews online and I can't decide which way it is going to go. I know that as a parent and an older sibling to future teenagers that will more than likely also go this high school, I'd like to see it. So, here is the trailer. I gets released in New York and L.A. today and premieres here Aug. 5th. I'll let ya'll know what I think after I see it.

A Sad Day...

This morning I am without words. My brother J.C. spent the night @ my house and when he called home this morning my dad told him that my sister Ally's new puppy Jude had died. I called him back to find out what had happened and all I found out was that somehow he got his head stuck in an empty Pringles can in Ally's room. Apparently he couldn't get it out and he suffocated. I am so upset, I hardly have words for it. I am angry and sad all @ the same time. I have a great weakness in my heart for animals and I am just beside myself thinking of how this poor dog suffered. Now, in all honesty this was not the first dog my parents have had in the last few years. I can't even begin to tell you how many they have bought and then given away in the last 10 years. I seriously don't think I could even remember all of their names. But, I had a soft spot for this one. For one thing, he was so cute! For another, growing up we had a dachshund named Odie and Jude reminded me of him. I will admit that when my mom told they gotten another dog I was pessimistic. I think I called her crazy and made a bet w/ my older brother that he wouldn't last 4 months. I wish now I hadn't said that. The minute I saw Jude he won me over, I was hooked. Just last night while I waited for J.C. to get his stuff I stood @ the door and held this dog as he licked my face, so excited to see me. The other thing about his death (that is upsetting me) is how do I explain this to my kids? I am so tired of having to tell them why these dogs that they fall in love with go away. I don't think my parents realize how attached my kids get to them. Then I have to tell them that Grandma gave the puppy away for whatever reason. I still remember 3 dogs ago was a little chiuahua/terrier mix named Ginger. For the longest time Dee Dee would ask Grandma "where Ginga?" It broke my heart. I guess I don't have to tell them Jude died, but either way it is a loss for them. I am at a loss, any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Here are some pics I took of Jude a few months back...

They're 2 they're 4 they're 6 they're 8...

I am always trying to find more "little boy" things for Jack, since unfortunately he tends to play with his sister's baby dolls and dress up clothes most of the time. When I went to the store to get new toothbrushes I found this. I was so excited! I don't know how much he is really into to Thomas the Tank Engine (he would probably rather watch Dora the Explorer) but I thought it was a must have. I realize now that I was wrong... very wrong. All of the kids love this thing and won't stop going into the bathroom just to play the song. The problem is that the thing doesn't turn off when the song is over. It just keeps going and going and going, until I go turn it off. Oh well, a small price to pay for the simple joy that can be brought into a child's life by something as silly as a toothbrush.



I guess I should have clarified that the toothbrush plays the Thomas theme song, here are the lyrics:



They're two they're four they're six they're eight

Shunting trucks and hauling freight

Red and green and brown and blue

They're the really useful crew

All with different roles to play

Round tidmouth sheds or far away

Down the hills and round the bends

Thomas and friends

I am Supermom!

You may remember awhile back when I vowed to be a better stay @ home mom. If not, read this. Well, I did try to hold myself accountable for that. I signed the kids up for swimming lessons and gymnastics camp, I even have an appointment today to get Reagan started with voice lessons. I really have been trying to do things for them instead of making their lives revolve around my schedule. Yesterday, I realized I was actually doing it, I was supermom! In the morning I took Reagan to her first gymnastics class. It was so much better than camp! The class size was smaller and she got to do more things that were appropriate for her age level. Another plus was that one of her friends from school, Sophia was in the class too! They were so excited to see each other. After class Sophia wanted Reagan to come over and play, and I would have let her, but I had a busy day planned! So, her mom and I exchanged phone numbers and promised to get the girls together soon! (Supermom right?) After gymnastics I took the kids the Ana Cece's to swim w/ their cousins. We were having such a good time I actually forgot to take pictures! I did manage to snap a few when we stopped to eat lunch. After the pool we headed home to try and get a nap in for Jack before swim lessons. Then it was back the YMCA @ 5:15! The girls are now in the same level (pike) and so I sat and watched their class and when that was finished I quickly got them dressed so that I could do the Mommy and Me class w/ Jack. By the time the day was finished it was all I could do to feed them dinner and get them in bed. Normally I would have stayed up late downloading pictures and writing all about it for you people, but last night I just didn't have it in me. However, as exhausting as it was, the only thing I have left to say is that it was worth it!

(Okay, since it was pointed out to me I will admit that yes, Jack is wearing pink floaties. I am sorry but with 3 kids you use what you have. Maybe I'm not Supermom after all!)

Bella's Birthday Luau

Here are a bunch of the pics from Bella's birthday party. The kids all had a blast even though it was extremely hot! As soon as they finished with cake they all went and jumped in the lake! Hope Bella had a great day!

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Happy Birthday Bella!

Happy Birthday to cousin Bella who turns six today! Hope you have a wonderful day sweetie! We can't wait for the luau party!

Havin' Fun @ the Lake

I have officially come to the conclusion that I take way too many pictures! I almost always have too many now to just post a few. I just can't choose my favorites! Yesterday we spent the afternoon @ Nini's house on the lake. It really felt like a Saturday b/c Chris had the day off. The only difference was the lake was so empty. Reagan is really turning into a good swimmer. I found a suit with the floatation in it and it has given her so much independence. Now she can start keeping up with Bella! We spent the day on the boat and just hanging out by the pier where it is shallow enough that the kids can touch. Then later in the evening Miah, Rachael and Austin joined us along with Tim. He brought along J.C. (my brother) who had been working for him during the day. We all had a great time! As I am sure you can see from my documentation! Everyone is always irritated by my camera, but 10 years from now they will all be happy that I captured these moments!

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